Johann Augustus Eberhard
Encyclopedia
Johann Augustus Eberhard (August 31, 1739 – January 6, 1809) was a German theologian
and "popular philosopher
".
in the Principality of Halberstadt
, where his father was a school-teacher and the singing-master at the church of St. Martin's. He studied theology at the University of Halle, and became tutor to the eldest son of Baron von der Horst, to whose family he was attached for several years. In 1763 he was appointed co-rector of the school of St. Martin's, and second preacher in the hospital church of the Holy Ghost, but he soon resigned these offices and followed his patron to Berlin. There he met C. F. Nicolai and Moses Mendelssohn
, with whom he formed a close friendship, and who were instrumental in his forming his own views. In 1768 he became chaplain to the workhouse
at Berlin and the neighbouring fishing village of Stralow. Here he wrote his Neue Apologie des Socrates (1772), a work occasioned by an attack on the fifteenth chapter of Jean-François Marmontel
's Belisarius
by Peter Hofstede
, a Rotterdam
clergyman.
In 1774 he was appointed to the living of Charlottenburg
. A second volume of his Apologie appeared in 1778. In this he tried to meet some objections to the former part, and continued his inquiries into the doctrines of the Christian religion, religious toleration
, and the proper rules for interpreting the Scriptures. In 1778 he accepted the professorship of philosophy at Halle, where his students included Friedrich Schleiermacher and the Serbian writer Dositej Obradović
. In 1786 he was admitted as a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences
; in 1805 the King of Prussia conferred upon him the honorary title of privy-councillor. In 1808 he obtained the degree of Doctor in Divinity, which was awarded for his theological writings. He died in Berlin in 1809.
He was a master of the learned languages, spoke and wrote French fluently, and understood English, Italian and Dutch.
did not depend upon revelation
, that it was possible for a heathen to go to heaven
, and that the notion of eternal punishment contradicted its supposed aim of morally improving the sinner.
's position that all knowledge comes through the senses, but developed this into a full-blooded phenomenalism
. In aesthetics
he held a position that he called "subjective finalism", a label later adopted by Immanuel Kant
: rather than being an objective property of objects, beauty is the relationship between the object and the representative power of the observer. For him, then, art should aim to awake and stimulate the pleasurable passions. Our aesthetic activity first appears in children's play.
In his position as editor of the Philosophisches Magazin (1788–1792) and the Philosophisches Archiv (1792–1795), Eberhard published many articles (most of which he wrote himself) critical of Kant. He argued that Kant's work was wholly derivative, simply adopting the work of Gottfried Leibniz
, and a variety of dogmatism. Kant responded to Eberhard's criticism in his Ueber eine Entdeckung, nach der alle neue Kritik der reinen Vernunft durch eine ältere entbehrlich gemacht werden soll (Königsberg, 1790).
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and "popular philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
".
Life and career
Eberhard was born at HalberstadtHalberstadt
Halberstadt is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the capital of the district of Harz. It is located on the German Half-Timbered House Road and the Magdeburg–Thale railway....
in the Principality of Halberstadt
Principality of Halberstadt
The Principality of Halberstadt was a state of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by Brandenburg-Prussia. It replaced the Bishopric of Halberstadt after its secularization in 1648. Its capital was Halberstadt. In 1807, the principality was made a state or regional capital of the Kingdom of Westphalia...
, where his father was a school-teacher and the singing-master at the church of St. Martin's. He studied theology at the University of Halle, and became tutor to the eldest son of Baron von der Horst, to whose family he was attached for several years. In 1763 he was appointed co-rector of the school of St. Martin's, and second preacher in the hospital church of the Holy Ghost, but he soon resigned these offices and followed his patron to Berlin. There he met C. F. Nicolai and Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
, with whom he formed a close friendship, and who were instrumental in his forming his own views. In 1768 he became chaplain to the workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
at Berlin and the neighbouring fishing village of Stralow. Here he wrote his Neue Apologie des Socrates (1772), a work occasioned by an attack on the fifteenth chapter of Jean-François Marmontel
Jean-François Marmontel
Jean-François Marmontel was a French historian and writer, a member of the Encyclopediste movement.-Biography:He was born of poor parents at Bort, Limousin...
's Belisarius
Belisarius
Flavius Belisarius was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously....
by Peter Hofstede
Peter Hofstede
Peter Hofstede is a retired football striker from the Netherlands, who made his professional debut in the 1990-1991 season for De Graafschap. Later on he played for Roda JC, FC Utrecht, Helmond Sport, FC Emmen, and ADO Den Haag.-References:...
, a Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
clergyman.
In 1774 he was appointed to the living of Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte...
. A second volume of his Apologie appeared in 1778. In this he tried to meet some objections to the former part, and continued his inquiries into the doctrines of the Christian religion, religious toleration
Religious toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
, and the proper rules for interpreting the Scriptures. In 1778 he accepted the professorship of philosophy at Halle, where his students included Friedrich Schleiermacher and the Serbian writer Dositej Obradović
Dositej Obradovic
Dositej Dimitrije Obradović was a Serbian author, philosopher, linguist, polyglot and the first minister of education of Serbia...
. In 1786 he was admitted as a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences
Prussian Academy of Sciences
The Prussian Academy of Sciences was an academy established in Berlin on 11 July 1700, four years after the Akademie der Künste or "Arts Academy", to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer.-Origins:...
; in 1805 the King of Prussia conferred upon him the honorary title of privy-councillor. In 1808 he obtained the degree of Doctor in Divinity, which was awarded for his theological writings. He died in Berlin in 1809.
He was a master of the learned languages, spoke and wrote French fluently, and understood English, Italian and Dutch.
Theology
Eberhard argued in books such as Neue Apologie des Socrates that salvationSalvation
Within religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or...
did not depend upon revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
, that it was possible for a heathen to go to heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, and that the notion of eternal punishment contradicted its supposed aim of morally improving the sinner.
Philosophy
Eberhard argued in support of John LockeJohn Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
's position that all knowledge comes through the senses, but developed this into a full-blooded phenomenalism
Phenomenalism
Phenomenalism is the view that physical objects do not exist as things in themselves but only as perceptual phenomena or sensory stimuli situated in time and in space...
. In aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
he held a position that he called "subjective finalism", a label later adopted by Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
: rather than being an objective property of objects, beauty is the relationship between the object and the representative power of the observer. For him, then, art should aim to awake and stimulate the pleasurable passions. Our aesthetic activity first appears in children's play.
In his position as editor of the Philosophisches Magazin (1788–1792) and the Philosophisches Archiv (1792–1795), Eberhard published many articles (most of which he wrote himself) critical of Kant. He argued that Kant's work was wholly derivative, simply adopting the work of Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
, and a variety of dogmatism. Kant responded to Eberhard's criticism in his Ueber eine Entdeckung, nach der alle neue Kritik der reinen Vernunft durch eine ältere entbehrlich gemacht werden soll (Königsberg, 1790).
Works
- Neue Apologie des Socrates (two volumes, 1772–1778)
- Allgemeine Theorie des Denkens und Empfindens (Berlin, 1776), won the Royal Society of Berlin prize for that year
- Von dem Begriff der Philosophie und ihren Theilen (Berlin, 1778) — a short essay, in which he announced the plan of his lectures on being appointed to the professorship at Halle
- Lobschrzft auf Herrn Johann Thunmann Prof. der Weitweisheit und Beredsamkeit auf der Universität zu Halle (Halle, 1779)
- Amyntor, eine Geschichte in Briefen (Berlin, 1782)
- Über die Zeichen der Aufklärung einer Nation (Halle, 1783)
- Theorie der schönen Künste und Wissenschaften (Halle, 1783, third edition 1790)
- Vermischte Schriften (Halle, 1784)
- Neue vermischte Schriften (Halle, 1786)
- Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie (Halle, 1788), second edition with a continuation and chronological tables (1796)
- Versuch einer allgemeinen-deutschen Synonymik (Halle and Leipzig, 1795–1802, six volumes, fourth edition 1852–1853) — an abridgment was published by the author in one large volume (Halle, 1802)
- Handbuch der Aesthetik (Halle, 1803–1805, second edition 1807–1820).
Sources
- Giorgio Tonelli, "Johann August Eberhard", in The Encyclopedia of Philosophy", ed. Paul EdwardsPaul Edwards (philosopher)Paul Edwards, born Paul Eisenstein, was an Austrian American moral philosopher.-Life and career:Edwards was born in Vienna in 1923 to assimilated Jewish parents, the youngest of three brothers....
(Collier Macmillan, 1967)